The national discussion following the Seahawks’ season-ending in defeat in Dallas focused on Seattle’s play-calling. With one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Russell Wilson’s role in the offense was minimized, with his 32 QB plays (non-handoffs) being nine less than any other quarterback in the wild-card round.

Here’s a sampling of some of the national commentary on Seattle’s night: “offensive malpractice,” “coaching malpractice,” “[play-calling] cost you this game.”

The response by those defending Seattle’s game plan have argued that the Seahawks’ unique run-first identity is the reason they got to the playoffs in the first place:

Would they have missed the playoffs if they hadn’t stuck with their identity? I’m not so sure.

What happened in Weeks 1 and 2?

First, let’s get one thing out of the way: Comparing Seattle’s offense in...